Abstract
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) (2008), developmental delays cause greater morbidity over a lifetime than chronic disease. In low- and middle-income countries, it is reported that one in every three children fails to reach their developmental milestones. If left unattended, developmental delays can negatively impact an individual’s life outcomes in multiple aspects. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the prevalence of developmental delays and their associated risk factors to mitigate these impacts effectively.
A descriptive, quantitative, cross-sectional study design was conducted. The developmental status of 4- to 5-year-old children from two different socioeconomic backgrounds was assessed using the parent-completed Ages and Stage questionnaire, version 3 (ASQ-3). Socio-demographic and data was collected through a specially designed and face-validated questionnaire. This biological data was collected from an affluent and non-affluent area for comparison. Descriptive statistics were computed to describe the characteristics of the sample. Inferential statistics were used to identify any significant differences between the two areas and any significant risk factors.
A total of 133 parents participated in this study. The sample was well represented across genders, with 71 and 62 participants being male and female, respectively. Similarly with area, 71 and 62 participants were from affluent and non-affluent respectively. The biological characteristics showed that 19.5% of the sample were born premature, and 23.3% born with low birthweight. Only 12% of mothers reported smoking during pregnancy, and none reported having consumed alcohol. Fourteen mothers (10.5%) experienced pregnancy complications, with the highest reporting being hypertension (n=8; 57.1%) as the complication. The delivery method was predominantly natural birth (63.9%). The study found the overall prevalence of developmental delays to be 22.6%. No differences were found between developmental status and the area of residence. The significant risk factors included breastfeeding for fine motor development (p=0.031), birthweight for communication (p=0.016) and personal social development (p=0.005), prematurity for communication (p=0.000), gross motor (p=0.001) and fine motor
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development (p=0.012), the mothers’ age at childbirth for problem-solving development (p=0.003), the fathers’ age at childbirth for problem-solving (p=0.021) and personal social development (p=0.030), the maternal educational level for communication development (p=0.032), the paternal educational level for fine motor development (p=0.015) and the number of unemployed adults living in the house for communication (p=0.000) and gross motor development (p=0.000).
Low socioeconomic status (SES), not breast feeding, having a low birth weight and being born prematurely are risk factors for developmental delays. These factors are important to note as they can build a foundation for early detection and prevention of developmental delays.